JMU Adds Three To Signing Class

HARRISONBURG – There wasn’t the fanfare that typically comes with the first Wednesday of February and National Signing Day, but James Madison completed its recruiting class.

“It is a bit different,” third-year coach Mike Houston said. “Usually you spend the entire month of January holding your breath trying to hold onto commitments to get to this day and then it’s a rash of fax machines, copiers, emails and every other form of communication to get Letters of Intent and scholarship paperwork back in.

“But with us signing 13 players back in December on the early signing day, it did make January a little less stressful.”

The Dukes finished by adding three prospects on Wednesday, signing Charlottesville wide receiver Rakeem Davis, Robinson (Concord, N.C.) safety Que Reid and Louisa County defensive lineman Tony Thurston.

Davis is the younger brother of former JMU standout and current Philadelphia Eagles player Rashard Davis. Reid was the Defensive Player of the Year in the South Piedmont Conference and Thurston was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Jefferson District.

With Davis, Reid and Thurston officially on board, JMU has signed eight defensive players, seven offensive players and one specialist in the class. Nine of the 16 signees are from the Commonwealth.

“The focus was on the unsigned players,” Houston said about his staff’s plan following the early signing day, which was Dec. 20. “With how long our season ran, our big official visit weekend was in January.

“You had 10 or 11 guys here that weekend that were already signed, so it was more making sure that they got the answers of different things they need on campus, but then those guys helped recruit the two or three that we didn’t have signed yet. That was kind of a neat dynamic.”

Reid gives JMU five defensive backs in the class, which Houston said was a priority with the Dukes graduating All-American safeties Jordan Brown and Raven Greene off this past season’s squad and will graduate cornerbacks Rashad Robinson, Jimmy Moreland and Curtis Oliver after the 2018 season.

In his last go-around at Robinson, Reid compiled up 108 tackles, a conference-leading seven interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

A former Western Kentucky commit, Reid picked JMU over WKU, Georgia State, Liberty and Elon, among others.

Houston said him and his staff competed regularly against fellow Colonial Athletic Association schools along with teams from the Southern Conference and mid-major FBS conferences for prospects in this class.

“Que Reid is a special player,” Houston said. “Que is a very mature kid, and I shouldn’t even call him a kid because you cannot believe you’re speaking to a high school senior when you’re speaking to him.

“But you put his athletic ability together with his maturity and I think Que is a guy that is going to come in and compete early for playing time.”

Thurston is the only defensive lineman in the class, but the second the program has added in the offseason since Houston brought in Virginia transfer Juwan Moye.

JMU defensive line coach Jeff Hanson recruited Thurston, who also had offers from Tennessee-Chattanooga and William & Mary.

“The big thing that Coach Hanson stayed on was just what a tough, hard-nosed player Tony [Thurston] is,” Houston said. “He’s a good athlete for a guy his size.”

Houston said the staff is already into recruiting its 2019 class, which is a result of the NCAA’s new early signing period that was introduced this past year.

“We did a lot of junior recruiting throughout the month of January,” Houston said. “So when we go out in May, we’ll already know a lot of the guys that we’re recruiting for next year’s class.”